Challenging old assumptions and ideas on the role of the military in society. Stressing the value of the military outlook for American national policy by performing here the distinctive task of developing a general theory of civil-military relations and subjecting it to rigorous historical analysis

Formatted Content Note

Sections include – Introduction - national security and civil-military relations; Officership as a profession; The rise of the military profession in western society; The military mind – conservative realism of the professional military ethic; Power, professionalism, and ideology – civil-military relations in theory; Germany and Japan – civil-military relations in practice; The ideological constant – the liberal society versus military professionalism; The structural constant – the conservative constitution versus civilian control; The roots of the American military tradition before the Civil War; The creation of the American military profession; The failure of the neo-Hamiltonian compromise, 1890-1920; The constancy of interwar civil-military relations; World War II – the alchemy of power; Civil-military relations in the postwar decade; The political roles of the joint chiefs; The separation of powers and cold war defense; Departmental structure of civil-military relations; and Toward a new equilibrium

Level Content-Audience

Undergraduate

Subject Entry

Militarism - United States of AmericaCivil supremacy over the military - United States of AmericaMilitary policySociology - Military